A Thing More Precious
by Kristen Elizabeth
Summary: He wanted her badly. He needed her beside him. Waking up next to her was what he woke up for.
1. Separations

Disclaimer: Most characters contained within do not belong to me. Unless we were all Communists. Then they would belong to everyone.   
  
Author's Notes: Experimenting with not finishing a story before I start posting its chapters. Usually I wait until at least three quarters of the plot is hammered out. Not this time. Whoo-hoo...unchartered territory. Kinda scary.   
  
Dedication: To Liz-chan and all her abnormalities. 'Cause once you create a religion centered around bishounen ai, you no longer get to call yourself 'normal'.   
  
****  
  
A Thing More Precious  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
"Have you completed all your missions?"  
  
"Yep."   
  
"Teeth cleaned?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Face washed?"  
  
"Yep."   
  
Heero Yuy thought for a minute. "Is that it?"  
  
The little girl tucked into the bed shook her head, dark curls spreading across her pillow. Instead of replying, she held her arms up towards him. He bent his head and let his six year old daughter's arms circle his neck. He placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Ame."   
  
Ame looked back up at him with wide blue eyes. "When is Mommy coming home?"  
  
"Tonight", Heero replied. "You'll see her when you wake up."  
  
"Why can't I stay up with you, Daddy?"   
  
Heero did not have to think of a reply. "Because your bedtime is eight PM. And it is now..." He looked at his watch. "Eight o' nine."   
  
Ame pouted. "Mommy lets me stay up when you go away, Daddy."   
  
"Unfair, isn't it?" Heero stood up. "Go to sleep."   
  
"Daddy!!", she called out as he reached the door. "I love you."   
  
Heero glanced back at his daughter. Nodding his head, he turned the light off and gently closed the door to Ame's room behind him. In the hallway, the part time nurse, Nancy, stood waiting for him; nestled in her arms was Ame's little sister, Sara. "Ah...Mr. Yuy. I was just coming to get you." Nancy rocked the baby gently. "She won't take the bottle. It took me forever to get her calmed down."   
  
"She wants Relena", Heero replied, glancing at his watch again. "She should be here in twenty minutes."   
  
Nancy held the baby out to him. "Until then...maybe a dose of daddy is what the little one needs."   
  
Heero took the child, with only a bit of lingering awkwardness. He held his youngest daughter against his shoulder. She whimpered, threatening to cry. Heero placed his hand against her tiny back; upon the instant of the comforting touch, Sara calmed down. Her little fists curled up handfuls of Heero's shirt.   
  
The nurse studied father and daughter. "I was right. All she needed was her daddy."   
  
"Should we try the bottle again?", Heero asked. "She has to eat."   
  
"Twenty minutes won't hurt her." Nancy took a soft, flannel cloth off her shoulder and draped it over Heero's. "She'll be ready for Miss Relena, though. Poor tyke's been without her mommy for...what? A week now?"  
  
Heero readjusted his daughter's little body. "No one expected the conference to drag on this long." He continued in a low voice, as if he had forgotten the nurse was still there. "I can't believe they didn't broadcast *any* of the conference meetings. No one has any idea what they're even talking about."   
  
"They shouldn't have made Miss Relena go at all." Nancy clicked her tongue, disapprovingly. "It's hardly been a month since she gave birth. Didn't even give her proper maternity leave."   
  
He kept silent. The woman couldn't possibly understand....the job Relena held, namely the protector of peace throughout the galaxy, did not come with benefits. "Relena is tough." Heero touched the wisps of blond hair on his daughter's head. "She'll be fine."   
  
"Well...", Nancy put her hands on her hips. "Next time she gets called into an emergency session of the legislature, tell her to pump a lot more..."  
  
Heero cut her off before she could finish her sentence. "You can go home now, if you want. Everything is under control here."   
  
Nancy nodded. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Yuy." She started down the main staircase. After a minute, the door closed behind her. The noise startled Sara; she began to cry. It was not a little whimper, as before; the little girl scrunched up her face, opened her mouth and let loose with a torrent of high pitched screams. Heero closed his eyes.  
  
"Daddy." Holding onto his wailing daughter, Heero turned around, only to see his other daughter, very much awake and very much out of bed. She held her hands over her ears. "Why does Sara make so much noise?"  
  
"She's a baby", Heero replied, raising his voice to be heard over Sara's cries. "Babies cry."   
  
Ame scowled. "Tell her to be quiet. She's hurting my ears."   
  
"That makes two of us." Heero patted Sara's back, but she gave no sign of quieting down. "What are you doing up, Ame? I told you to go to sleep."   
  
His daughter folded her arms across her pink nightgown, tipping her nose up haughtily. "I can't sleep with all this..." She tested out a word she had learned from her very favorite honorary uncle, Duo. "...crap."   
  
Heero silently cursed the man with the braid. "Don't use that word, Ame."   
  
"Why not?", his daughter challenged.   
  
He thought long and hard but could not come up with a better answer than, "Because I said so." Sara continued to scream into his ear.   
  
Ame reached for his free hand, tugging on it. "Daddy...I don't want a little sister anymore. I want a puppy."   
  
Before Heero could reply, the front door opened. Relief flooded him upon seeing his wife of nine years, Relena Peacecraft-Yuy, enter the foyer wearily. She winced, hearing her youngest daughter's screams and looked up at the hallway, visible from the first floor. "Bad time or just in the nick of time?", she asked.   
  
"Mommy!!" Ame flew down the staircase and pounced on her mother. "You're back!! Did you get me a present? Where's Mr. Duo? Can we trade Sara for a puppy?"  
  
Relena's head spun. Instead of answering her daughter's questions, she hugged the girl for a long minute before straightening up. She gripped the banister as she started up the stairs towards her husband and their baby. "Heero...is she all right?"   
  
"She's hungry", Heero replied. He wanted to kiss his wife, welcome her home, but the children came first. He passed Sara to her mother. "Rejected the bottle."  
  
"Shh...sweetie..." Relena gently rocked the baby. "Mommy missed you, too....and she's going to feed you, just as soon as..."  
  
A loud voice bounced off the foyer walls. "I got the bags, Relena!" Duo stepped into the house, ladden with Relena's matching luggage. He cocked his head to the side upon hearing Sara. "Small Fry's upset?"  
  
Ame threw her arms around his legs. "Mr. Duo!!!"  
  
"Small Lady!" Duo picked the girl up. "Older and wiser sister of Small Fry! What on earth are you doing up?"  
  
"Daddy let me wait up for you", Ame lied, grinning broadly. "Did you have fun at the meeting, Mr. Duo?"  
  
"Wouldn't call it fun, Small Lady." Duo set her back down. "I kinda had to work, you know. Keeping your mom safe and all." He placed a hand over his heart, melodramatically. "It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it." He amended the phrase. "When your dad can't."   
  
Relena had managed to calm the baby a bit. She looked at Heero. "I'll get Ame back in bed and feed Sara."   
  
Heero nodded. "You should go to bed, too." He touched her cheek. "You look exhausted."  
  
"I am." Relena stared into space for a second before blinking and returning her attention to her children. "Ame....get up here, missy."   
  
Sulking, the little girl left Duo's side and grudgingly climbed the stairs. Relena took her hand and with Sara still crying against her breast, started for Ame's bedroom. "Goodnight, Duo", she called out. "Thank you!"  
  
Duo cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled back, "Anytime, princess." After Relena and the girls disappeared from sight, he looked up at his old friend with much amusment. "How goes it, Daddy dearest?"  
  
Hands shoved into his pockets, Heero started down the staircase. "What happened at the conference?"  
  
"That daughter of yours has some *powerful* lungs, buddy. I see opera singer or umpire in her future." Duo sidestepped Heero's question.   
  
"What happened at the conference, Duo?"  
  
Duo cleared his throat as Heero reached the bottom of the stairs. He pointed at the flannel rag on Heero's shoulder. "Spit cloth? How the mighty have fallen...."   
  
Heero balled up the cloth. "Are you going to tell me or will I have to force it out of you?"  
  
There was a long pause. "It's not good, Heero." Duo took a deep breath. "If ever there was a time to panic, it would be now."   
  
"You mean...this was all about...." Duo nodded. Heero looked at the flannel in his hands. "It didn't..."  
  
"No. Not yet. She's fighting it." Duo ran a hand down his face. "I can't tell if she's winning or losing."   
  
"Relena never loses", Heero replied after a minute.   
  
His oldest friend lowered his eyes in acknowledgement. "Then...we shouldn't worry." He plastered his trademark smile back onto his face. "Well, I'm going to go home and have sex with my wife. I suggest you do the same....if she's anything like Hilde in this area, she's going to need to..."  
  
"Is nothing sacred with you?" Heero gave him a hard look.   
  
Duo thought for a moment. "Nope. Nothing." Grabbing his own suitcase from the floor, he flicked a salute at his friend. "Night, night!"   
  
After the door closed, Heero locked it, double checking to make sure the house was secure for the night. He flipped off the downstairs lights and picked up his wife's luggage. After dropping it off in the master bedroom, he walked back to Ame's room. Inside, Ame was curled up in her bed, fast asleep. Relena sat in a rocking chair in the corner with Sara situated at her breast. She glanced up when she felt him watching. "Hi", she whispered.   
  
Heero marveled at the calm that had settled over the house, merely because of her presence. "Hey", he replied, quietly slipping into the room.   
  
Relena looked back down at their baby as she fed. "I missed you."   
  
He nodded, his way of indicating that he felt the same. "Do you want to talk about the conference?"  
  
"No." She lifted Sara up and turned her around. "Not yet."   
  
Heero let the subject drop. "She's falling asleep."   
  
"Yeah..." Relena gave up trying to get the little girl to take her other breast. "I'll put her to bed and then..."  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
She blinked. "Are you sure?"  
  
Heero lowered his head. "The mighty have fallen?"  
  
Relena smiled. "No. The mighty have gotten stronger." She stood up and carried Sara over to him. The baby barely stirred as she was transferred from one parent to the other. "I think I'm going to take a bath. And after that..." She took a breath. "...we're going to have to talk."   
  
"About?"  
  
"The future."   
  
****  
  
He was already in bed when she left the bathroom. Relena glanced at the clock; she had been soaking in the tub for half an hour. Heero was sitting up against the antique, carved oak headboard; a pillow scrunched under his neck. His eyes were closed and his bare chest rose and fell rythmically.   
  
Relena's eyes watered. Her overwhelming love for him frightened her. She felt, in that moment, that if anything ever happened to him, she would die. She wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat. Nothing was going to happen to him. She would not allow it.   
  
She shrugged out of her robe, leaving it on the floor, and undid the clip holding up her hair. It fell in long, golden waves down around her full breasts. Relena approached the bed. "Heero", she whispered.   
  
His eyes opened, revealing twin pools of deep ocean blue. He blinked at seeing her, naked and luminescent in the moonlight, standing over him. She felt his gaze flicker down to her breasts, then back up to meet her gaze. There was hunger in her eyes. Desire flooded his own thoughts. "I thought we were going to talk", he said.   
  
Relena crawled over him and swung one leg around, sitting on his lap. "We can talk in bed."   
  
He held himself still, but every unconcious wiggle made it more and more clear that talking was the last thing she wanted to do. "Relena..." Heero gently gripped her hips. "What happened at the conference?"  
  
Some of the desire in her cooled. She looked down at the toned muscles of his stomach, but her thoughts were back in the board rooms she had spent the last week in. "They proposed the bill to the legislature."   
  
"I see", he replied after a long minute. His hands remained on her hips, enjoying the smooth skin, still damp from her bath. "What does that mean for us?"  
  
Her gaze sparked. "Nothing! It won't *ever* pass", she said, vehemently. "I won't let it pass."   
  
"Relena...would it be so bad for us to..."  
  
She cut him off. "To what? To be arrested? Tried for war crimes? Do you know what's listed in war crimes, Heero? Assault, terrorism, armed robbery, rape, attempted murder, murder...and that's just the big ones!"   
  
"Relena..."  
  
But she was beyond hearing him. "They'll charge all of you with every single one of those things, Heero!! As many counts as they can get away with. They don't care whether you actually committed every single one. And they don't care that they're guilty of the same things! They want to put a 'sealed' stamp on the war files and feel like they've done something to make reparations. They don't realize that reparations do not come about by spilling the blood of former soldiers."   
  
"You don't think we should stand up and face our actions?" Heero lifted her chin, forcing her to stare into his eyes as she answered.   
  
Relena was a long time in replying. "You do face your actions", she whispered. "Everytime you wake up in the middle of the night from a horrible dream...everytime you can't fall back asleep...everytime you shy away from human contact...you face your actions, Heero." She swallowed. "When *don't* you face them?"   
  
He looked off to the side. "When I'm right here."   
  
Her throat closed up with emotion. Cupping his face in her cool hands, she turned his head and lowered her mouth to his. Her tongue traced his lips; the kiss grew in intensity as Heero met her tongue with his own, beginning a very familiar, very welcome dance. His hands slid under her hair, drawing her down to his body. Relena adjusted herself until she was lying on him; her breasts pressed against the hard plane of his chest. She let out a muffled cry into his mouth.   
  
Heero rolled their bodies over and lifted himself up over her. "Sore?", he whispered, cupping one breast in his hand. She nodded. He kissed her throat and slid down her body until his mouth was directly over one plump mound. His lips brushed over one rosy peak; his tongue delicately tripped over the milky flesh. He did not suckle at her, as he knew she liked under other circumstances. Instead, he lightly licked, soothing her sore nipples.   
  
"Oh!" She squirmed under him. "That feels good..."  
  
He kissed his way back up her body. "I think we had it better before." To explain himself, he pulled her up and sat up straight, seating her on his lap. Their arms wrapped around each other, holding onto the moment. His arousal pressed into her heated flesh through the comforter.   
  
"Can we do this?", he asked into her shoulder. Her skin was warm against his lips. "Sally said five weeks before..."  
  
Relena's hands played over his perfectly muscled back. "I'm fine, Heero. I want this. I need you to..." She stopped; years of forced propriety often made it hard for her to talk to him so intimately. Biting her lip, she continued on. "I need you...inside me."   
  
The tension left his shoulders. Had she said the word, he would have stopped immediately and held her for the rest of the night. But she wanted to go on...and he wasn't about to say no. For the safety of the baby, they had not done this for two months before Sara was born. After three months of abstinence, they were both ravenous for each other.   
  
They made love with all the tenderness and passion of their first time together, combined with the knowledge of each other's bodies that they had gained after nine years of marriage, the skills to bring each other the greatest pleasure possible...and the lust that had been building up for three months. After they both stepped off the pinnacle of ecstasy, they lay intwined in their bed, enjoying the afterglow.   
  
It was a long time before Relena lifted her head and looked up at her husband. Heero's eyes were closed again; his body was relaxed and pliant in sleep. She curled against him tighter.   
  
"I love you", she whispered. "It's my turn to protect you now." She closed her own eyes. "I hope you'll let me."   
  
****  
  
"Minster Graham?"  
  
"A definite yes."  
  
"Minister Boyland? Is he still holding out?"  
  
"He's a yes. He came on board after I reminded him of his son's untimely death on the Barge."  
  
"All right....who's left?"  
  
The acne-scarred aide looked at his papers nervously. "Um...well, sir....there's really just..."  
  
"Her."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
His boss stood up and looked out the windows. "No luck whatsoever?"  
  
"None. She's very...unwavering on this issue." The boy cleared his throat. "She...um...said she'd, and I quote, 'fight this with every breath in her body'. End quote."   
  
The older man sighed. "Some people just don't understand. Her sympathy for the war criminals is neither admirable, nor forgivable."   
  
"I agree. But sir...she is the Foriegn Minister. Her popularity on the colonies is unmatched. So much so that they could side with her on this. If we don't have colonial support, our cause will never be realized."   
  
"She's one woman. She doesn't have the power to stop this on her own."  
  
"Like I said, sir....where she goes, the colonies will go. And I don't think I need to remind you how much the Earth does not want another war with the colonies. If they don't back the proposal in space, the Earth is likely not to either. We will have lost all our support, sir. And the war criminals will go unpunished."   
  
"All because of her." The boy's boss thought for a moment. "It's simple. Eliminate her."   
  
The aide winced. "Sir, that is not advisable. An assasination would turn her into a martyr for her cause."   
  
"What do you propose, then?"   
  
"Um...I could try to talk to her again. Perhaps she'll..."  
  
The older man shook his head. "No, she's determined to see this through. She's a stubborn bitch...always has been." He pulled at his beard, thinking once again. "Do you have children, Wilson?"   
  
Wilson looked confused. "I'm not married, sir."   
  
"Children are life. One would do just about *anything* for them. They are more valuable than money...and more precious than principles."   
  
"I don't follow, sir."   
  
"You will, Wilson. You will."   
  
****  
  
"I'd like to propose a toast!" Duo raised his champagne glass. "It's been exactly nine years since I last did this...on that fateful day when Relena *finally* got Heero off his spandexed ass..." He made a face. "...and up to the altar! I can't seem to remember exactly what I said that day, so if this is just the same speech over again....grin and bear it." He cleared his throat. "To Heero and Relena!"   
  
Chang Wufei blinked. "That's it?"  
  
Duo lowered his glass before he could take a sip. "What? What's wrong with that?"  
  
"No long-winded diatribes? No highly elaborated anecdotes?", Wufei continued.   
  
Quatre Raberba Winner blushed. "Not even a dirty limerick?"   
  
"You're slipping, Maxwell." Trowa Barton shook his head, sadly.   
  
"Good thing", Heero commented.   
  
Duo threw up his free hand. "I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't!! Doesn't anything please you people??"  
  
Relena put a hand to her mouth to cover her laughter. "Duo, I think you did just fine. Thank you very much."   
  
Duo's wife, Hilde, lifted her champagne glass. "To Heero and Relena", she echoed her husband's toast. "Happy Anniversary."   
  
After everyone seated around the large table had repeated the toast, the waiter began to serve the main course. Relena felt for her husband's hand under the table; his fingers laced with hers and squeezed gently. She glanced over at him and smiled upon seeing him staring at her profile. Leaning a bit towards him, she whispered, "Happy Anniversary."   
  
Heero nodded. "Are you all right? You look a little tired."   
  
"I'm always tired, Heero." She smiled. "It's no reason not to have a good time."   
  
He was about to reply, when Quatre cleared his throat. "Where are the babies tonight?"   
  
"Shipped 'em back to the baby farm", Duo replied. "Figured we'd see if we could trade 'em all in for models that don't have vocal cords."   
  
Hilde slapped his arm. "Talk like that could send our children into therapy someday."   
  
"Their father is the self-proclaimed God of Death", Wufei muttered. "Therapy's been in their future since the day they were concieved."   
  
"Ha!" Duo stabbed at his fish. "Don't let Sally catch you talking like that! Speaking of....what is the *real* reason why she couldn't come tonight?"   
  
Wufei shrugged casually. "She's on duty at the medical bay. Why, what were you thinking?"  
  
"Nothing", Duo replied, far too innocently.   
  
Heero set down his water glass. "The children, all of them, are with the nurse. And one of the Preventer's sharp-shooters."   
  
"Again, I have to ask if that was really necessary?" Relena sighed. "It's bad enough to subject our own children to a life of constant military protection, but Hunter and Greta, too?"   
  
"It's all right, Relena", Hilde assured her friend. "They'll survive. Actually, I feel a lot better knowing they're that heavily protected."   
  
"Everyone's on edge", Quatre said, quietly. "The conference..."   
  
A silence fell over the dinner table until Trowa lifted his head. "What is going on with that?"   
  
Relena looked down at the napkin in her lap. "It's at a standstill", she replied in a soft tone. "In order to pass the legislation that would allow for the arrest and arraignment of..." She hesitated. "...war criminals, the Earth-Colony Alliance members need to be unanimously for it. And so far....we're not."   
  
"It's all a pathetically weak excuse to keep the war going in people's hearts", Wufei tossed in his two cents.   
  
Duo poked at his salad, as though he had never encountered one before. "I think it's more of a way for Minister Houghton to prove that he has a bigger..." Hilde pinched him. "...gun than anyone else." He glanced around. "It won't pass. Princess won't let it."   
  
"The Earth faction of the ECA knows better than to alienate the 'C' part of the alliance", Heero summed things up. "If Relena doesn't sign off on the bill, it will die before it hits the floor."   
  
Quatre bit his lip. "I wonder what we ever did to Minister Houghton to make him hate us so much."   
  
"That's just the problem, Quatre." Relena's chin wobbled, but she kept her tears back. "It's not you. Or any of you...specifically. In fact...you're nothing to him. He's not after people; he's after principles. And that's much more frightening."   
  
"No one likes a fundamentalist", Duo muttered.   
  
Trowa cleared his throat. "So, what do we do in the meantime?"  
  
Relena smiled. "Exactly what you should do....live your life. Let me take care of it."   
  
Wufei raised an eyebrow. Duo took a long sip of champagne. Quatre chewed on his lower lip. Trowa stared blankly at his plate. Heero nodded. "We will", he replied for the rest of them. "We trust you."   
  
Before Relena could reply, a waiter approached her from behind with an old-fashioned hand-held phone. "Minister Peacecraft, there's a call for you."   
  
She accepted the phone and brought it up to her ear, awkwardly. "Hello?" For a long moment, she heard nothing on the other end. "Is anyone there?", she asked.   
  
Heero glanced up from his plate. "Who is it?"   
  
Relena raised her shoulders. "Hello?", she repeated into the phone.   
  
"Miss Relena?" The voice that finally came through the phone was weak and broken.   
  
"Nancy?" Relena recognized the nurse after a few seconds. "Nancy...what is it?" Heero's back straightened. He dropped his fork and concentrated entirely on his wife.   
  
Nancy took a long, shaky breath. "I was...putting them all to bed...and the doorbell rang..." She stopped.   
  
Relena switched the phone to her other ear. "What happened, Nancy? You're scaring me."   
  
"Ame...Ame ran downstairs to answer it...." Nancy choked back a sob. "They were waiting for her..."  
  
Her heart was in her throat. The hands holding the phone trembled. "Nancy...the children..."   
  
"They took them...Ame and Sara...." Nancy began to cry. "They're gone..."  
  
****  
  
"Single blow to the back of his skull." Wufei lowered the white sheet back over the body of one of the Preventer's best sharp-shooters. "He probably didn't even see it coming."   
  
Quatre hugged his arms across his chest. "The poor boy...."  
  
Trowa glanced at the front door of the Peacecraft Manor. "So...they killed the guard...then came in the front door....took the kids..." He turned around and looked at the gated driveway. "In and out in less than ten minutes. This was well-planned."   
  
"An inside job?", Wufei suggested. "Someone who knew the layout of the grounds, the capabilities of a Preventer..."  
  
"And knew that Heero and Relena would be gone for the night", Trowa mused. "Definitely an inside..."  
  
"Can this wait?" Quatre's eyes were watery. "I mean...right now doesn't seem the best time to..." He gestured to the house. "...when they're in there...and the kids are..."  
  
Trowa looked at his lover with concern, but an air of practicality. "We have to think about all of this now. We can't afford to wait...not if we want to get the children back. We have to think of who could have done this, how they did it..."  
  
"Why they did it." Wufei crossed his arms. "Why they grabbed Heero's kids and left Duo's behind."   
  
"It's obvious." Duo joined his friends from the shadows created by the house. "My kids aren't that valuable. Not like the offspring of the Foriegn Minister, anyways."   
  
Quatre lowered his eyes. "Where is she?"  
  
"Inside", Duo replied. "Heero and Hilde are with her. She's actually doing pretty well....I mean...you know...." He stuck his hands in his pockets.   
  
Trowa took another look at the unfortunate Preventer at his feet and signaled for the coroner to come and retrieve the boy's body. "Let's go inside. The sooner we can figure out who did this, the greater the chance that we can find the children...." He stopped before he could finish his sentence with the word "alive".   
  
****  
  
"Ame is six. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes..." Relena's voice was soft but steady as she spoke the chief Preventer on the scene. "She's...very talkative...she never quiets down, actually." Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh god...what if she says something that makes whoever took her angry? What if they hurt her??"   
  
Heero's hand gripped hers. "They won't hurt her, Relena. There wouldn't be any reason to."   
  
Nodding, Relena took a breath and continued. "Sara is a month old. She's...she's a baby...she's just a baby..." The tears spilled over onto her cheeks. "She needs me...Sara won't take a bottle. What if she won't eat? What if they don't even try to feed her?? Oh god...." Sobs racked her frame.   
  
Chief Addams looked up from his notes. He cleared his throat lightly. "Minister Peacecraft...your children were taken for a reason. Whoever has them knows that in order to get whatever they want...most likely money...that they can not hurt either child. Now...do you have recent pictures of your children?"   
  
Relena nodded. "We have some here....and they're on file with any newspaper or magazine, especially Ame. We try to keep them out of the public eye...but it's hard...." Her voice gave out.   
  
"All right. We'll get those out to every law enforcement agency. We're going to post guards at all spaceports, to keep the kidnappers from leaving Earth. A guard is going to stay here to monitor your communicator in case they try to get in contact with you about ransom."   
  
Heero's voice was low and grave. "You don't really think this is about money, do you?"  
  
"What else would it be about?", Addams asked his fellow Preventer.  
  
Hilde had been quiet up until then, sitting on a couch across the parlor, holding her children, five year old Hunter and two year old Greta, tightly in her arms. "If it was money...why didn't they take all the children?", she asked, hoarsely.   
  
The chief Preventer was quiet for a minute, as though he refused to acknowledge any scenario he himself did not come up with. "We're still talking to your nurse about the incident. After we're done, we'll drive her home. I suggest you get as much sleep as possible. The next seventy two hours are crucial. You'll need all your energy, Minister Peacecraft."   
  
Relena nodded, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Heero's hand held hers tight, promising to never let go. "Thank you", she whispered.   
  
Addams stood to go. "Oh...one more thing. We're going to keep this out of the press for as long as we can, but eventually it will leak out. You're too high profile, Minister Peacecraft. When it does, what sort of statement would you like us to make?"  
  
After a moment of thought, Relena looked up at the chief with a lifeless stare. "Someone took my babies. Our babies." Her eyes closed. "I just want them home again...I'll do anything. Absolutely anything...to get them back."   
  
****  
  
"We'll be around the house at every entrance, Commander Yuy. If they call, let us know right away."   
  
Heero nodded at the younger man. When the boy saluted, Heero returned the gesture and closed the front door. Sally Po, Chief Medical Officer for the Preventers, approached him, hand in hand with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Wufei. A medical bag was in her other hand. "How is she?", Heero asked Sally.   
  
She sighed. "Well, I tried to get her to take something to help her sleep, but she refused. Said she wanted to be awake when the kidnappers called. I left the bottle in your room though. Try to get her to take at least one pill. She needs to sleep."   
  
"I will", Heero assured her. "Thank you."   
  
Sally smiled sadly. "It's quite alright." She glanced around the foyer. "I'm so sorry, Heero. But I know they're going to be found very soon." There was a pause. "They just have to be."   
  
Heero nodded and opened the door. "Goodnight."   
  
As the couple passed by him, Wufei stopped for a brief second. "Duo's house?" Heero replied with another, cryptic nod. The door closed behind them.   
  
Turning slowly, Heero glanced around the foyer. The marble tiled room was deadly quiet. Immaculately clean....Relena had insisted on having every bit of fingerprint dust cleaned away after it had served its purpose. Clean, but quiet. Heero looked up the stairs as though he expected his daughter to run down it at any second, arms flung wide for a hug. His chest ached. Swallowing heavily, he started up the silent stairs.   
  
Relena was standing just outside the doorway to the nursery, her arms crossed tightly over the evening dress she had yet to change out of. She flinched when she sensed him approach. Heero touched her shoulder. "Koibito...", he began, using his special name for her. As gently as possible, he turned her around to face him. "Don't do this to yourself."   
  
Tears spilled over her cheeks. "It's so quiet, Heero." Her eyes closed. "I hate it!! It's too quiet...."   
  
He reached around her and closed the nursery door. His arms folded around her. "Come on." Heero urged her down the hallway towards their room. "Sally wants you to sleep."   
  
She pulled away from him. "No...no, I can't sleep. What if they call and I miss it?? I don't need to sleep, Heero. I'm fine."   
  
"All right." Heero thought for a moment. "Will you consent to a bath?" Relena hesitated before nodding. "Start your bath and I'll bring you something to drink." He watched his wife slowly walk to their room. When she was out of his sight, he started back down the stairs to the kitchen. It only took a few minutes to boil water and locate Relena's favorite tea.   
  
He took the tray with the teapot and one cup back up the stairs. He could hear the water running as he came into the bedroom. The door to the bathroom was ajar. Quickly, he set the tray down and reached for the tiny bottle Sally had left on the dresser. Without hesitation, he dropped two of the tiny pills into the cup and poured hot tea over them, watching them dissolve.   
  
Relena was sitting on the edge of the tub, a dark blue towel wrapped around her body when he entered with the cup of tea. She glanced up as he came in; there were dark circles under her eyes that had not been nearly as pronounced five hours ago. "I feel pampered", she said, attempting a smile.   
  
Heero turned the water off and tested it with one finger. "Get in", he gently instructed. Relena stood and let the towel fall. She slipped into the hot water with a little sigh of pleasure. Instantly, she felt guilty. Here she was, luxuriating in a bath with her husband by her side...while her children were being held captive by God-only-knew who. Her eyes closed again; her forehead crinkled.   
  
"Stop." Heero seemed to read her mind. "Drink this."   
  
She took the cup with trembling hands. Heero reached for a hairband and pulled her hair off her shoulders. The feeling of his fingers at the base of her neck sent a shiver down her spine. She took a sip of tea and tried to relax her shoulders. "Thank you, Heero."   
  
He took a washcloth from the towel rack and dipped it into the water. Kneeling beside the tub, he wrung the cloth out over her shoulder. Water cascaded down her skin. He repeated the process, gently bathing his wife. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she continued to sip her tea.   
  
When the cup was nearly empty, Relena set it aside and reached for his hand. She brought his wet fingers up to her mouth, kissing them softly. "I love you."   
  
Heero nodded and stroked her cheek. "We will find them, Relena."   
  
Fresh tears flooded her eyes. "What if we don't? What if they get hurt? There's a million bad things that could be happening to our babies and there's absolutely nothing we can do about it!"   
  
"Hey..." He caught her chin. "We will find them. Not 'probably'. Not 'maybe'. Not 'someday'. We *will* find them."   
  
Her face was still troubled, but her body was relaxing more and more by the second. "Do you promise?", she whispered.   
  
"I promise", he replied simply.   
  
Relena's eyelids were becoming very heavy. "I'm just going to close...my eyes...just for a minute..." After another second, her eyes shut and her head fell. Heero set down the washcloth and lifted his wife from the tub. After he dried her off, he carried her to their bed and covered her with the comforter. He fought the very strong urge to lie down next to her and wrap his arms around her deeply asleep body. "I'm sorry, koibito", he said, softly kissing her forehead. "I hope you'll forgive me in the morning."   
  
Leaving her to her dreams, Heero packed a small bag, filling it with the few things he would absolutely need. Taking a last look at his sleeping wife, he closed the door behind him and started out of the house.   
  
****  
  
****  
  
~Overheard at JACON 2001~  
  
"Capitalism sucks!!"  
  
Random fan-girl: "Heero!! Hee-chan!! Smile!!"  
  
Eric (as Heero): "I don't smile....do I? Kristen, do I smile? I don't think I'm supposed to smile."   
  
"I am Tuxedo Pimp. Sailor ladies...."  
  
Me, to con-worker at door, while looking for Liz-chan: "Have you seen Duo?"   
  
Con-worker: "Which one?"  
  
Sean Schimmel, the voice of Goku: "Hi! I'm Goku and I have to pee!"  
  
"If you don't take my picture with Sephiroth, I'll die."  
  
Driving to the con in heavy I4 traffic, listening to Gundam Wing battle music: "Hmm....what would Heero do?" *Screeching tires as Kristen pulls around a semi-truck.* (This is a philosophy I think more people should embrace. WWHD? Try it next time you're in a sticky situation. Don't blame me if you're arrested.)  
  
Me, looking for my brother: "I've lost my Trunks."  
  
Clifton (Teaching Eric to walk like the Perfect Soldier): "No, it's great, Eric. I just never realized Heero walked like that...."   
  
Random fan-girl: "Can I take yall's picture?"  
  
Katie (as Relena): "Even me?"  
  
(Random fan-girl nods, everyone poses. Random fan-girl draws sword and points at Katie's throat.)  
  
Katie: "Help!"  
  
"I WANT SEX!!!!" (At least, that's what we think the person was yelling. It could have been 'Zechs'.)  
  
Guy dressed as Biker Neko Duo-chan: "I didn't just want to dress as Duo again like last year. So I thought long and hard and the one thing that seemed to make sense was Neko-Duo. Biker Neko Duo. Cause you see all these cat-girls running around this place. But I'm the only cat-boy...."  
  
Me: "Okay....so far I've seen ten Duo's, three Wufei's, Heero and Relena are on their way, and I heard a rumor that there's a Quatre and a Trowa running around somewhere. I *will* have my cast photo....." ~Evil laughter~  
  
My parade-raining little brother: "But what about Zechs?"   
  
"It was surreal...."   
  
To the Japanese Animation Club of Orlando....thank you for putting on another fantastic convention!! Here's to the next one where Liz and Eric (as Duo and Heero) will up that PG-13 rating on their Cosplay scene to a solid R, with Katie's permission, of course. 


	2. Clues

Disclaimer: I make no claims of ownership.  
  
****  
  
A Thing More Precious   
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
"What did you say to her?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Duo stared unbelievingly at his oldest friend. "Please tell me you're just experimenting with the thing we call joking." One look from Heero answered that question. "You know...sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that you really do love her. Your actions don't always speak it, buddy."   
  
Heero folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the sofa in Duo's living room. "These are the only actions I know. If you have a problem with all of this, you don't have to help."   
  
"No." The braided man shook his head. "My kids were in that house, too. My son screamed in his sleep before you got here, begging me not to let the bad men take him away like they did Ame." Duo balled up his fist. "I'm with you, Heero. I just wish there were another way."   
  
An image of Relena waking up alone flashed through Heero's mind. Blinking back a sudden wave of emotion, he cleared his throat. "Have you told Hilde?"   
  
Duo nodded. "She tried to talk me out of it, of course."  
  
"But I'm still with you." Hilde entered the living room in her nightgown and robe, holding a sleeping Greta. Her eyes were clouded with tears. "I can't seem to put her down. I'm afraid she won't be there when I reach for her again...."   
  
Her husband gently took the little girl. "Heero's going to fill you in on everything, babe." He kissed her forehead. "I'll put her back to bed."   
  
Heero watched Duo disappear around the corner with his daughter. He looked back at Hilde. "You're on board?"  
  
Hilde turned a cool gaze onto him. "I won't lie to her, Heero. If she asks me if you're with Duo, searching for the children, I won't say no." She sniffed. "But I won't offer up the information either. If you really believe this is the only way...."  
  
"It is. I'm a liability to Relena right now. I won't burden her with my protection on top of everything else."   
  
"So..." Hilde smiled sadly. "...you'd rather leave her entirely on her own?"  
  
Heero blinked as though he had not considered his plan in that light. "Relena is strong."  
  
"You count on her strength a lot, don't you?"   
  
"I trust it, yes."   
  
Hilde delicately rubbed her temple. "I hope you're not misguided. I can't speak for Relena, but it would take a stronger woman than me to forgive you for what you're about to do."   
  
A twinge of guilt pulled at Heero's conscience. "Duo and I will find my children and bring them home to her." He raised his shoulders. "She won't be alone. I've seen to that."   
  
Duo's wife gave him a doubtful look, but held her tongue further. It was just as well that she did; at that moment, there was a light knock on the door. Hilde went to answer it. "Hey", she greeted the three men. "Come on in...the party's just getting started."   
  
Quatre gave her a sympathetic smile. "Have they left yet?"  
  
"No. Not yet." She gestured for them to come in. Once they were, she shut the front door. "Can I get anyone anything? Coffee? Tea? Double whiskey on the rocks?"  
  
"Skip the rocks", Trowa deadpanned.   
  
Quatre shook his blond locks. "Thank you, Hilde. But we're fine."   
  
Duo walked back into the living room, his manner abnormally subdued. "Good. Everyone's here." He looked at Heero. "Well? This is your operation, buddy."   
  
Heero nodded and looked at Wufei. "What do we know?"  
  
"That we didn't know three hours ago?" Wufei shrugged. "Not much. There were no fingerprints on the scene...at least not any from anyone who shouldn't have been there." He took a breath. "The guard was killed with a .22 slug...a shade on the old fashioned side. It entered the base of his skull execution style and he probably died instantly. But...here's the interesting part." He paused. "The bullet was made of gundanium."   
  
"Gundanium?", Duo repeated.   
  
"Did I stutter?" Wufei continued. "Gundanium. Not an alloy...real Gundanium. There are only a few known suppliers of gundanium in the entire universe and the Preventers have them all under tight control. They're not making bullets."  
  
"So, someone must have bought the gundanium and then fashioned it into bullets", Quatre concluded.   
  
"There'll be records of the sale." Trowa looked at Heero. "Tracking down the customer will be time consuming. What did Relena say when you told her everything?"  
  
Heero looked uncomfortable, but ignored his friend. "Wufei, get us a list of every one of those suppliers."  
  
"You did tell her...didn't you, Heero?" Quatre's blue-green eyes emenated concern.   
  
"See if you can get us some sort of cover. We'll need complete access to each supplier's financial records. I'd like to keep this from becoming a covert operation, but if necessary, Duo and I will also need blueprints and layouts of each facility, as well as a breakdown of their security systems."   
  
"He didn't tell her", Trowa stated, flatly. Hilde bit her lip and shook her head.   
  
"Oh Heero..." Quatre lowered his head. "How could you not tell her?"  
  
"How would you have told her?", Duo said, quietly standing up for his best friend.   
  
The blond man slowly shook his head. "I would have found a way." He glanced at Heero, his eyes pleading. "Call her, Heero. Go back and leave her a note. Go back and *tell* her. But don't make her wake up to an empty house. Don't do that to her. She's been through so much tonight that..."  
  
"No", Heero said. "I can't tell her."   
  
Quatre pressed on. "So...she loses her children and her husband all in the same night? Are you trying to test her breaking point, Heero? Because she does have one. And if you do this, you might push her over her edge and..."   
  
"I have my reasons."   
  
"Oh...you have your reasons..." Quatre's voice was growing louder by the second. Trowa put a hand on his shoulder, but he ignored his lover. "That's not good enough, Heero. I watched you nine years ago when you promised to stand by her side in good times and in bad. Well, this *is* the bad times. And what do you do? You leave her all by herself in the middle of the night. So whatever your reasons are, they..."  
  
Heero jumped to his feet and used his extra inches of height to look down at his Arabian friend. "I said I had my reasons. Leave it at that."   
  
Quatre blinked. "Fine", he whispered. "That's just...fine."   
  
The tension in the room was thick. Finally, Heero tore his stare away from Quatre and looked at Wufei. "Duo and I are setting out before dawn. We'll need that list immediately." Wufei nodded.   
  
Duo turned to his wife. "Babe..."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "I'll make you some sandwiches.....you bottomless pit." Winking at her husband, Hilde headed for the kitchen.   
  
"We'll make up some excuse for Lady Une." A hint of repressed mischief flickered in Trowa's green eyes. "We'll tell her you two ran off together."   
  
"I would *pay* to see her reaction to that one", Duo replied.   
  
"She'd never believe it", Quatre said quietly. He seemed to be recovering. "Duo is the one who lobbied the hardest for a uni-sex bathroom at Headquarters."   
  
"And logged in 254 man-hours on that sting operation at the Shangri Ooh-la-la Gentleman's Club last year", Trowa added.   
  
"Not to mention his well-known opposition to the mandatory brassiere clause for all female interns at Preventer-sanctioned functions." Wufei shook his head. "You're a sick man, Maxwell. We'll tell Une that you both took personal leave."   
  
"Oh yeah...*that* won't rouse her suspicions." Duo scowled. "Might as well tell her we're rolling in baby oil, arguing over who gets to be..."  
  
Heero cleared his throat loudly. "Do you mind? Tell Une whatever will keep her off our asses....not a fucking comment on that one, Barton. I really don't give a damn what she assumes or doesn't assume as long as she leaves us alone to find my girls. Getting the Preventers involved will only get Ame and Sara..." His voice faltered. "...hurt. Or worse."   
  
Quatre spoke up softly, but firmly. "What do we tell Relena?"  
  
"Tell her..." Heero's jaw tightened. "It's better this way."   
  
****  
  
Relena woke the morning after her children's abduction with a groggy headache that she attributed to the previous evening's tragedy. She lay in bed for a long minute, trying to collect herself. Heero was not in bed with her; she had known that from the second she began to surface from her dreams. His side of the bed was unmussed as though he hadn't slept at all. Which, knowing Heero, was probably true.   
  
It took every ounce of her willpower to get out of bed and even more to get showered. She walked into her closet, searching for an outfit. In truth, she didn't give a damn what she wore for the day. But if the news of the kidnapping had leaked to the public, there would be reporters surrounding the house. Her publicist would commit suicide if Relena were photographed in an old sweatshirt and jeans.   
  
She chose khaki pants and a light blue, long sleeved cotton shirt. Comfortable, respectable...the first things she saw in her closet. When she was dressed, she brushed her hair and with a shaking hand, applied a light coat of lipstick. After giving her appearance a final glance in the mirror, she left the bedroom in search of her husband.   
  
"Heero?" The house echoed her words as she started down the grand staircase. "Heero...where are you?"  
  
There was no reply. Puzzled, Relena walked to the kitchen, only to find it empty as well. Her stomach growled, calling for her attention. She opened a cabinet, reaching for a box of granola. It was hidden behind Ame's cereal boxes. Marshmallow bits sprinkled with a few bits of fiber. Relena touched one brightly colored box reverently before pushing it aside and extracting the granola.   
  
Before she could fix herself breakfast, a cold thread of worry shot up her spine. The granola was abandoned. "Heero!", she called out again. "Where are you??"   
  
When she still didn't recieve a reply, her heart began to pound faster. Something was very, very wrong. Relena ran for the front door. Two Preventers stood on her front stoop, guarding their post. The young men jumped to attention at seeing the Foriegn Minister. "Ma'am!", they saluted.  
  
Relena struggled for breath. "Have you seen Commander Yuy?"   
  
The younger Preventer squirmed. "Commander Yuy? Um...no ma'am. No, we..um...haven't."   
  
"He hasn't stepped out for anything? Gone to Headquarters?", Relena pressed.   
  
"Uh...well..."  
  
The second, older Preventer sighed. "Ma'am...we're not supposed to say anything to you. But Commander Yuy left early this morning."   
  
Relena felt as though the air had been sucked out of her lungs. "Did he...say where he was going?", she managed to ask.   
  
"No ma'am. But..."  
  
"But what?"   
  
The man hesitated. "He had a travel bag with him."   
  
Several long seconds passed as Relena processed the information. "Thank you", she whispered. Slowly, she backed up into the house, closing the door behind her. She stood with her back pressed up agains the door for a long time. A lone tear slipped down her cheek.   
  
"Heero..."   
  
Relena moved forward, but she was not aware of telling her legs to walk. They acted entirely on their own, carrying her into the parlor of her ancestral home. The home she had shared with Heero for nine years. The home they had started a family in. The home he had carried her into on the night of their wedding. She walked to the windows and stopped.   
  
Time passed, but she had no idea how long she stood at the window. Her eyes saw nothing as she stared out the glass. The only thing that brought her out of her reverie was the sound of voices raised in argument in the foyer.  
  
"...going inside whether you like it or not. I have more right to be in this house than you do, boy."  
  
"Sir....I have my orders..."  
  
"And I have someone in there who needs me. You have five seconds to move aside and let me by before things are going to become unpleasant."  
  
"Millardo?"   
  
Millardo Peacecraft peered into the parlor. Standing all alone in front of the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the ocean was the former Queen of the World...the Foriegn Minister, pale and far more fragile than usual. A lump stuck in his throat. Without any prompting, he pushed past the guard, crossed the distance between them and gathered his little sister into a strong embrace.   
  
Relena began to cry the minute his arms encircled her. Heero's arms made her feel loved, beautiful and safe. But Millardo's arms allowed her, just for a moment, to be a child again and to feel the sort of protection that one can only get from an older brother. Her nose squashed against his shirt as she sobbed.   
  
His wife, Lucrezia Peacecraft slipped quietly into the room. Her eyes watered upon seeing her sister in law, the young woman she had grown to love like a biological sister, in so much pain. Millardo held her tight, letting her vent all her sorrow into his chest.   
  
Relena began to speak before all her tears were shed. "How did...you know...to come here? It's not..." She stifled a choked sob. "...in the news yet...is it?"   
  
Millardo gently stroked his little sister's hair. "Heero called us. We got here as soon as we could."   
  
"Heero?" Her head tilted up; hope welled to the surface of her flooded blue eyes. "You talked to him? Did he say where he was going...when he would be back?"  
  
Her brother looked confused. "He's not here?"  
  
"No..." Relena's shoulders slumped under the weight of fresh sobs. "He's gone..."  
  
Noin exchanged a frantic look with her husband. "Relena..." She touched her sister in law's arm gently. "Maybe he just went down to Headquarters. Or Duo's house...have you tried calling Duo's house?"   
  
Relena shook her head against Millardo's chest. "He's gone." She pressed a hand to her own chest. "I feel it...here. They're all gone..."   
  
"Heero wouldn't do that, Relena." Noin looked at the man she loved for affirmation. "Right?" Millardo raised an eyebrow and said nothing.   
  
The Foriegn Minister lifted her head from her brother's shoulder. "When did you...talk to him?", she asked.   
  
"Early this morning", Millardo replied. "He told us about the girls and asked us to come as soon as possible. He said that you needed us." Unconciously, Millardo's fist tightened. He refused to let his anger at his brother in law come to the surface. The last thing Relena needed right then was to hear all the horrible thoughts about her husband that were permeating his mind.   
  
"Where could he be?", Relena whispered. But what she was really asking was, 'why isn't he here?' To that, her brother had no answer.   
  
****  
  
Ame Yuy was known to her first grade teachers as 'the great negotiator'. At six years old, she could talk even the third graders into helping her with her subtraction and the cafeteria ladies into giving her an extra cookie at lunch. She was a bright, talkative and happy child.   
  
Not such was the Ame Yuy balled tightly into the corner of the big, ugly white van that had been driving endlessly for hours. The van's windows were painted, so she could not even see out of them. Everytime the van hit a pothole in the road, her head jolted against the metal siding. She wanted to cry, but she was too scared and too tired.   
  
Her sister did not appear to have the same problem. Ever since the big men in black ski masks had yanked the baby out of Nancy's arms, she had been crying at the top of her little lungs. Ame was happy to hear the sound. It meant that Sara was all right. Scared and hungry just like she was, but well enough to cry. And to keep crying.   
  
The big man awkwardly holding Sara sighed for the hundreth time since his partner had pushed the baby into his arms to take over the wheel. "Don't we have anything to shut the kid up?", he asked.   
  
His partner hunched over the wheel. "I told that moron he should have let us hire a woman. But no...he had to keep the job small. And now we're stuck with this little...." He said a word that Ame had never even heard Mr. Duo say.   
  
Huge tears welled up in her eyes. The van hit a pothole and her head banged against the wall. She could not hold back her little cry of pain. The man holding Sara craned his neck to see her. "Shut up, kid! We've got enough of it with your sister."   
  
Ame bit her lip. Now that she had the man's attention, should she ask him? Would it make him even more mad? Maybe mad enough to hurt her or, worse, Sara? But...she couldn't hold it in anymore. "I have to go to the bathroom", she informed her kidnapper.   
  
The man repeated the bad word. "Did you hear that, Mike? The kid's gotta pee."  
  
"So?", came the reply from the driver's seat.  
  
"So...pull over and let her go."   
  
"Are you out of your mind? Yeah...I'll just let the kid out so she can run off. That's great, Jay. Just fucking brilliant."   
  
The man named Jay winced as Sara began to cry even louder. "Where the hell is she going to go? She's little; we could catch her before she got ten feet away. 'Sides...the boss told us to take good care of them."   
  
"Fine. I'll pull over. But you keep an eye on her the whole time, Jay. Got that?"  
  
"What? I can't do that! She's a girl!! That wouldn't be..."  
  
"Wouldn't be what? Wouldn't be right??", Mike taunted his partner. "Like grabbing them from their house and shoving them into a van in the middle of the night was 'right'. Don't let her out of your sight...or else."   
  
Ame's head banged against the metal again; she closed her eyes. "Daddy will find us", she whispered. "Daddy will find us."  
  
****  
  
To Be Continued.... 


	3. Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not count Gundam Wing or its characters amung my possessions.   
  
Author's Notes: My goddess....I have nothing to say. A definite first. Excuse me...I have to go think of things to say....  
  
Dedication: To Clifton. Even though he left me all by myself on the Fourth of July with just the dog, the cat and the bird to keep me company. The bird squawked all day, the cat hates my guts and the dog ate a candy bar wrapper. Happy Independence Day. To quote one of my favorite movies, Dazed and Confused, "remember what you're celebrating is the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic white men didn't want to pay their taxes."  
  
****  
  
A Thing More Precious  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
"Hey!! We have cable!!"   
  
Heero tossed his duffel bag onto one double bed in the motel room he and Duo had just taken. "Great. 120 channels that we won't be watching."   
  
Duo instinctively located the television's remote control and plopped onto the other bed. "Fuck the mission. We've got the Playboy Channel." His friend said nothing. "Aww...c'mon, Heero! Hilde never lets me watch this channel, so I know that Relena probably has it banned from your TV, too." When Heero still failed to reply, Duo cocked an eyebrow in his direction. "Right?"   
  
"What Relena and I watch on our private television set is of absolutely no relevance to this mission."   
  
"You kinky bastard", Duo breathed with an air of admiration. "Sheesh...you think you know a couple and then..."  
  
Heero pulled his gun out of his bag. He simply held it in his hand, making no threatening movements, but it was enough to quiet his braided companion. "The lights on L1 are dimmed at six PM. That gives us two hours to get to the warehouse and familarize ourselves with its layout." With his other hand, Heero pulled a rolled up blueprint out of his bag and tossed it towards Duo. "While you were sleeping on the shuttle, I circled the areas of the building that are weak in both security and structure. We'll scout out each place before dark and then come back later."   
  
"One question." Duo turned the blueprint around in his hands. "Which end of this thing is up?"   
  
****  
  
The big men were getting ready for something. Ame lifted her head from her knees and watched them. They moved around the little cabin with clipped, precise movements, speaking in low, hushed tones. A machine was being hooked up. Ame's natural curiousity won out.   
  
"What is that?", she asked.   
  
The man named Jay looked at her. "It's a telephone, kid." He adopted a mean smile onto his face. "We're calling your mommy."   
  
"Mommy..." Ame's eyes lit up.   
  
"Only, you can't talk to her. Not yet anyways." Jay turned back around.   
  
Ame's chin wobbled. "I want to talk to Mommy! I want to talk to Daddy!!"   
  
The other man swung around. "Shut up! You're going to wake up your sister and if you do that, I swear to god....I'll throw your dinner out the fucking window."   
  
Jay shook his head. "You're really a bastard, man."   
  
Mike twisted wires around inside the old-fashioned phone. "She's the same age my little girl was when she...when they killed her. Fucking White Fang shitheads..." He slammed the phone onto the makeshift table. "They're going to pay....and if this kid is the key to doing that, I'll be the meanest bastard in the whole fucking world." He glanced back at Ame who had tucked herself back into a little ball. "It's not my fault, kid. It's your mom..."   
  
Ame's cheeks were wet. "Mommy...I want Mommy. And Daddy...when Daddy finds us, you're going to be very sorry you were mean!"   
  
Jay smiled. "Every kid thinks their dad is a hero. It's better you realize it now....there's no such thing."   
  
"We're ready", Mike announced. He picked up the phone and dialed.   
  
****  
  
"...matter what, we'd always be friends. Right Dawson?"  
  
"...amazing cleaning powers! Just a spray of this incredible..."  
  
"...doesn't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world..."  
  
"...and it's in the dirt. Ball one."  
  
"...on tour next month. Tickets for most of their shows are already sold out, so..."  
  
Relena muted the TV set with a careless flick of her thumb. Three hours of flipping channels had done nothing but dry out her eyes and kill off a few of her brain cells. The noise was empty; it did nothing to fill up the silence in the house. Even Millardo and Noin's presence, a comfort though it was, couldn't make up for the tremendous loss in her life.   
  
Out of habit, Relena reached her hand to his side of the bed, reaching for him. Her fingers found nothing but cool sheets. Empty space. A fresh tear escaped the corner of her eye. "Heero..." She gripped his pillow, bringing it up to her face. His scent still lingered. Clean shampoo with a trace of cologne, the cologne being entirely for her benefit. Relena buried her face in Heero's pillow. At the core of her being, she ached. Smelling him was delicious torture.   
  
From the hall, she could hear her brother's voice. "Relena...there's a call for you."   
  
Her reply was shaky. "Tell whoever it is that I'll call them back."   
  
There was a pause. "I think you want to take this call."   
  
Relena sat up straight. Her heart lept into her throat. *It could be the kidnappers. It could be...Heero.* Her legs wobbled a bit in anticipation as she slid off the bed.   
  
Millardo was standing in the hall waiting for her. "It's not Heero", he said right away, as though to keep her hopes from soaring only to come crashing down again.   
  
She bit back a stab of pain. "I'll take the call in the study."   
  
Minutes later, she was seated in her study with a hand-held audio phone hooked up to a recorder which was being manned by a Preventer technician. When the man gave the signal, Relena began to speak to the men who held her children.  
  
****  
  
"Well...that was nice and fun."  
  
"A nice, fun waste of time."   
  
"Look on the bright side, Heero. We now know way too much about how to build earthquake proof buildings with gundanium support beams."   
  
Heero sat on the edge of his bed and pulled off his shoes. "We also know that Miller and Ross Construction Inc is not supplying gundanium to anyone it shouldn't be."   
  
"So...we put a little check mark....here." Duo crossed the first name off the list of gundanium suppliers provided by Wufei. "Mission....ongoing."   
  
With a noiseless sigh, Heero laid back against the stiff motel pillow. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand between the two beds. It was two thirty AM on L1. On Earth, it was still early evening. *She's probably having dinner with her brother and his wife. I hope she's eating well.* His thoughts strayed to the other bright spots in his life, his two little girls. *I hope they're eating at all.* Unconciously, Heero balled up his fist.   
  
"Whoah...buddy. What did the bedspread ever do to you?" Duo pointed to the tacky motel spread, twisted and threatening to tear under the pressure of Heero's hand.   
  
He released the material. "There's one more supplier on L1. I want to start first thing in the morning and be off this metal heap as soon as possible."   
  
"Metal heap? Is that any way to talk about your own colony?" Duo kicked off his boots and tugged his shirt out of the waist of his jeans.   
  
Heero snorted into his pillow. "I don't belong to this place because I was born here anymore than it belongs to me because I was raised here."   
  
"You know..." Duo threw back the cover on his bed. "That might be the most I've ever heard you say about your childhood."   
  
"I hope you enjoyed it. Because it's all you're ever going to hear."   
  
After shedding his jeans, Duo slid into bed with an exaggerated sigh of contentment. "If Hilde were here, this place wouldn't be half bad." He looked at the ceiling. "I take that back. Hilde would hate this place."   
  
"Relena too", Heero said before he could stop the thought from surfacing. He bit the inside of his cheek, tasting his blood. As though his mouth had suddenly developed a mind of its own, he continued. "She wouldn't say anything, of course. She never really complains about anything." He stopped.   
  
"Not the same little girl who jumped in front of my gun, eh?"  
  
Heero pulled at a loose thread on the comforter. "I'm not the same guy she tried to protect. And you're not the same guy who she tried to stop on my behalf."   
  
"I guess not." Duo was quiet for a long minute. "When did you figure out that she had changed?"   
  
He expected Heero's reply to be a long time in coming. If he replied at all. He was surprised when Heero spoke right away. "On the day I fell in love with her."   
  
"Which came first? The love or the realization?"   
  
Heero shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Maybe it was simultaneous. Just one day...I saw her....differently." Once again, he stopped and gave no sign of continuing.   
  
"Jesus, Heero. You can't just stop there! What day? What difference? What the hell is that on the ceiling?"   
  
His best friend gave a soft, laughing snort. "A soldier sees people with different eyes than a normal man. One day, I stopped being a soldier and became a man. That was the day I fell in love with her. That was the day I *let* myself fall in love with her."   
  
Duo tore his eyes away from the ceiling and glanced over at the other bed. "Then what happened?"   
  
Heero plucked the remote from the nightstand and threw it onto Duo's bed. "If you need to know, I suggest channel 69."   
  
"And people say *I'm* sick??" Duo shook his head, sadly. After a moment, he grabbed the remote and turned the television on.  
  
The screen lit up, revealing the solemn face of a news anchor, reading the day's news. Duo was about to flip channels when a picture of Relena appeared beside the anchor's face.   
  
"The Earth Colony Alliance is up in arms tonight after the Foriegn Minister, Relena Peacecraft-Yuy, canceled the summit meeting with Minister Charles Houghton, chairman of the Eve Wars Justice Commission. Minister Peacecraft-Yuy's office had no official comment on the cancellation except to say that the Foriegn Minister would reschedule the meeting as soon as possible. Still, the sudden withdrawal of the Foriegn Minister has many politicians questioning her motives. Minister Houghton had this to say earlier today."   
  
The anchor was replaced by an older man, standing behind a podium, surrounded by cameras...very obviously loving the attention. "It's quite obvious, ladies and gentlemen, that our Foriegn Minister is afraid to stand up to views and opinions other than her own. The summit meeting that would have taken place two days from now would have been my opportunity to present my case before the Earth Colony Alliance. She has taken that away from me because of her own inability to present a logical, opposing viewpoint."   
  
Minister Houghton's face faded and the anchor reappeared. "The case he is referring to is, of course, the Eve Wars Justice Bill, a piece of legislation that calls for the arrest and arraignment of known war criminals, namely ex-White Fang soldiers and guerilla warfare practitioners such as the infamous Gundam pilots. Minister Houghton proposed the bill to the ECA five months ago on the tenth anniversary of the cease-fire. Since then, he has been battling opposition from both Earth politicians and colony delegates, but his primary source of opposition has come from Foriegn Minister Peacecraft-Yuy who had this to say two months ago at the Preventer Peace Conference on L3."   
  
Taped footage of Relena, eight months pregnant, began to play. "The war is over. The war has been over for a very long time. Minister Houghton claims to want to make reperations for crimes committed, but I have to wonder...who will benefit from those reperations? And I have to ask myself if it's right for people who fought for a cause they believed in to be punished for their actions ten years after the fact. In case I have not made myself clear, I stand firmly against Minister Houghton and his bill. As long as I am the Foriegn Minister, I will do everything in my power to see that this warped idea of justice is never realized."   
  
Once more, Minister Houghton's face filled the screen. "Time will tell whether or not the Foriegn Minister is as dedicated to eradicating my bill as she has previously claimed. Only one thing is for certain: hiding isn't going to make it go away. The leaders of the world, not to mention the citizens of both Earth and Space, will not stand for a leader who buries her head in the sand when the going gets..."  
  
With the push of one button, Duo muted the man. "Nice how they edited that there to make it look like some sort of debate." He tossed the remote to Heero who caught it expertly. "What do you think Relena is doing?" When Heero said nothing, Duo continued. "Cancelling that meeting isn't like her. I mean, kids and..um..you nonwithstanding, it's not like Relena to shirk any sort of committment."   
  
It was a long minute before Heero finally replied. "I'm going to tell you why I'm doing all of this...my reasons for doing this the way I'm doing it."   
  
Duo swallowed. "Um...okay."   
  
"I realized it as soon as I heard Relena say the children were gone. Before we got home, before I saw anything....I knew why they had been taken."   
  
"For money?", Duo made a half-hearted guess. Deep down, however, he already knew the reason. He let Heero continue.   
  
"Relena is the only thing standing between Houghton and his goal." Heero paused. "What do you think it would take for her to change her mind...to give in?"   
  
Duo punched his pillow. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck..."   
  
Heero ignored his obscenities. "Relena is also the only thing standing between us and punishment for our crimes. If I'm right...which I know I am...or if I can't find them, she'll be trapped. Forced to choose between me and our children." His short nails dug into his palms. "I will not put her in that position. If she hates me, if she thinks I don't care about her...her choice will be easier."   
  
"Heero..." Duo trailed off, for once unable to think of anything to say.   
  
"So, you see..." Heero turned the lamp off. "It's better this way."  
  
****  
  
The hand holding the phone trembled violently. Relena could literally feel the blood draining from her face, leaving her cheeks moist with cold sweat. The Preventer technician looked at her strangely; he had been forced to cut off his audio recording at the kidnapper's request. Only Relena could hear the kidnapper's demands.   
  
"Is that understood, Minister?" The title was spoken sarcastically and with much contempt. "If you want to see your children alive again...you know what you have to do."   
  
Relena found her voice. "How much...time do I have?"   
  
There was a muffled discussion that she could not understand. Finally, the one kidnapper replied, "Three days. You will reschedule the summit conference that you cancelled. During your welcome speech, you will announce your decision to the world and *renounce* your former position on the subject. After the conference, you will drive *alone* to the old Alliance operation base just outside the border. There, we'll have your children waiting for you. How well you follow these instructions will dictate in what sort of condition your children are returned to you."   
  
"Please don't hurt them", Relena whispered.   
  
"That is entirely up to you, Minister. Three days. Until then..." The line went dead.   
  
The Preventer gave her a frantic look. "Minister....Minister, did they hang up? I almost had their location pinpointed..."   
  
Relena didn't hear him. She lowered the phone from her ear with a dead arm. Three days. She had three days to choose.   
  
Save her children....or save her husband.   
  
****  
  
To Be Continued...  
  



	4. Memories

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine. Not mine.   
  
Author's Notes: A thought for the day. Never take financial tips from a porn movie.   
  
Dedication: To the members of our roleplaying game. You all are the craziest people I have ever met and I love every single one of you.  
  
****  
  
A Thing More Precious  
by Kristen Elizabeth  
  
****  
  
A calm, somber question. *....stay with her in good times and in bad, promising to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her until death do you part?*  
  
*Yes. I do.*  
  
*Then by the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife.*  
  
Nervous anticipation. *...don't really have to carry me over the threshold, Heero.*  
  
*You want me to, don't you?*  
  
Sated and pliant against his body. *....want you to stay inside me, forever. Just like this. Please don't ever leave me, Heero.*  
  
*I won't. I won't leave you. You're everything to me."   
  
A hint of mischief. *...just bought a little something to wish you a happy Father's Day.*  
  
*Father's Day? Relena...are you....*  
  
*We are.*  
  
Exhausted, but joyful. *...meet your daughter, Heero.*  
  
*Is she supposed to be this small....this perfect?*  
  
*You wouldn't think she was small if you had just pushed her out of your body.*  
  
*I'd still think she was perfect.*  
  
Quiet reflection. *...what are you thinking about, Heero?*  
  
*Your arms. When I'm in them, I feel like I've found my way home...*  
  
Heero's eyes opened suddenly. He was greeted with the sight of the waterstain on the ceiling of the motel room. From the other bed, he could hear Duo snoring. Heero turned his head to look at the window; there was a faint light peeking through the drawn curtains. Dawn was upon them.   
  
He knew he should get out of bed and wake Duo....complete the mission and then get off of L1. But when he went to move, he found that he had no will to do so. Rather than fighting it, Heero allowed himself to relax for another minute.   
  
His thoughts immediately drifted back to his dreams. She had filled them. The moments in their life together, all combined to create a kaleidescope of memories. If he closed his eyes again, he could almost feel her arms around him.   
  
Without warning, his chest began to ache. He wanted her badly. He needed her beside him. Waking up next to her was what he woke up for. Without her, there was just an empty hole. Without her and the girls, he was all alone.   
  
Duo's snoring slowed down as the braided man began to wake up. He yawned and stretched. "You awake?", he mumbled, sleepily.   
  
Heero sat up. "No."   
  
"Man..." His best friend propped himself up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "I had the most fucked up dream. I dreamt that you and I left our wives and our own beds behind and went on a crazy mission throughout the galaxy." He blinked and looked around the sparse motel room. "Aww, shit. I hate when this happens...."  
  
"It's nearly dawn", Heero replied. "Be ready to go in twenty minutes."   
  
Duo threw back the covers and swung his legs around. "Keep dreaming, Yuy. It takes me that long just to wash my hair."   
  
Heero turned on the lamp between their beds. "Twenty minutes. I don't care if you wash it or not."   
  
"But..." Duo held up the end of his braid. "It needs to be conditioned, too!"  
  
"Twenty. Minutes."   
  
Heaving a great sigh, Duo stood up and started for the bathroom. "Will you at least give me time to brush my teeth? Maybe take a leak?"  
  
"Only if necessary", Heero muttered, earning him an upturned finger. The bathroom door slammed behind Duo and the room was quiet. Forcing himself to get up, Heero glanced at his watch. It was still the middle of the night on Earth. She would be asleep. His gaze fell on the room's cheap communicator.   
  
The overwhelming desire to see her face on the screen nearly consumed him. He was like a junkie. Just one little peek. But he instinctively knew that if he saw her, he would never be able to let go again. His eyes traveled the room, eventually landing on Duo's duffel bag. The old-fashioned mobile phone Duo insisted upon carrying in case Hilde needed him.   
  
Hearing her voice wouldn't be as torturous as seeing her, he decided. Before he could talk himself out of it, Heero had retrieved Duo's phone and was dialing. After two rings, he heard her.   
  
"Hello?" Her voice was low and tired. He could picture her blinking the sleep from her blue eyes. "Hello?", she repeated.   
  
Try as he did, he could not make his mouth work. "Is anyone there?", he heard her ask. After a second's pause, he turned the phone off, disconnecting.   
  
He stared at the floor for several long minutes, collecting himself, until Duo emerged from the bathroom. "Made it in ten", Duo pronounced. "Does that mean we have time for coffee?"   
  
Heero wiped his sweaty hands on the jeans he had forgotten to take off before he fell asleep. "Yeah...coffee. I'll buy."  
  
"Damn right, you'll buy. And I fully expect to be compensated with chocolate sprinkle donuts, too."   
  
"Don't push your luck."  
  
****  
  
"Fine....I didn't want to talk to you either", Relena told the unknown person as she hung up her phone. Sighing, she laid her head back down on her arms, willing sleep to descend upon her. But she was not the slightest bit tired. Her body was wide awake; sleep would have been too much of a distraction.   
  
She faced the choice no one should ever have to make. Either path she took, she ran the risk of losing the most important people in her life. Tears clouded her eyes, but she brushed them away. Crying would do her no good.   
  
Her stomach churned, reminding her that she had not taken the time to eat much of anything in the past two days. At dinner with Millardo and Noin, she had pushed her food around her plate, trying to make it seem as though she had eaten more than two bites. She wasn't sure if they had fallen for it, but they had left her alone.   
  
Alone. That was what she was. All alone. Relena glanced at the clock on her desk. Two fifteen in the morning. Too early to call her office and order the summit meeting to be rescheduled. She closed her eyes. That decision hadn't even been entirely made yet. It was too big. Too massive of a choice for her to make entirely on her own. She needed help. She needed someone who could at least listen to her.   
  
Her heart wanted Heero. Her fingers dialed Quatre.   
  
"Winner residence."   
  
"This is Relena Peacecraft-Yuy. May I please speak to Mr. Winner?"   
  
"The master is in bed, ma'am. Would you like to leave a message?"   
  
"No...no message. I need to speak to him. Now, please."  
  
The man on the screen sighed. "I'll put you through, ma'am." The screen darkened and was replaced by Quatre's familiar face. His cheeks were flushed.   
  
"Relena?", he asked.   
  
"Quatre, I'm so sorry to wake you." Relena bit her lip in apology.   
  
"You didn't wake me." Sheets rustled in the background; Quatre looked off to his side for a second before returning his attention to Relena. "Is there something you need? Are you all right?"   
  
Her face crumpled. "I need to...talk to someone."   
  
"Oh, Relena." Quatre touched his communicator screen in comfort. "What's happened?"  
  
Relena shook her head. "I can't tell you. I want to, but I can't. I just..." She took a breath. "I need to ask you something."   
  
Quatre's eyes took on a wary look. "All right."   
  
"Where is Heero?"   
  
Silence followed her question. The blonde man sucked in a breath and slowly exhaled, biding time before he answered. "Relena....I can't answer that."   
  
"You can't or you won't?"  
  
He sighed. "Both." Quatre leaned forward. His pale, bare chest gleamed with a thin coat of sweat, caught in the light of the artificial colony moon. "Heero made it very clear that this was the way he wanted things. I've already put my friendship with him on the rocks. I can't risk it any further. As much as I want to help you, I just can't."   
  
Relena's shoulders sagged. "Please don't put me through the Gundam pilot solidarity bit. I just...need my husband. I shouldn't have to go through this alone!"  
  
"I'm so sorry, Relena." His blue-green eyes revealed the sincerity of his apology. "I don't think you should have to do this alone, either. But I have to believe that Heero..." He paused. "...has his reasons."   
  
Her head lifted. "What about Trowa? Will he help me?" Quatre opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. "Trowa...I know you're there. Will you tell me where my husband is? Or are you afraid of going against his *master plan*, as well??"   
  
Trowa's face appeared beside Quatre; a bare arm wound around his lover's shoulders. "I have no compunctions about going against Heero's wishes....indirectly."   
  
"Indirectly?"  
  
"Duo always carries a mobile phone with him. Only Hilde has the number." Trowa looked straight into her eyes through the communicator screen. "How you choose to use that information is up to you."   
  
"So he is with Duo." Relena closed her eyes; a faint smile played across her face. "Thank you, Trowa. Thank you so much."   
  
The former Heavyarms pilot nodded before shutting down the communication. Quatre's normal peaceful eyes were stormy. "What was that?", he demanded.   
  
"That was me doing the right thing", Trowa replied, calmly.   
  
"Do you know what Heero is going to..." Quatre was once again cut off, but this time by his lover's lips.   
  
Trowa pulled back. "Don't tell me that you have any doubts that Heero is fucking miserable, lying in the bed he made for himself."   
  
"Yes, but..."   
  
His words were smothered with a second kiss. "I think it's time we stopped paying so much attention to what Heero wants and start thinking about what Heero needs." He looked down at his half-naked lover. "Actually....who gives a damn about what Heero needs?" He captured Quatre's lips again and pulled him back to their bed.  
  
****  
  
"Four...three...two......one."   
  
There was a small explosion as the door to the wall safe burst open. Duo uncovered his ears and waved away the smoke. "God, I've missed blowing shit up!"  
  
Heero looked at his watch. "Five minutes before security arrives. You take the files on the top; I'll get the others."   
  
"You know...", Duo began after a minute of flipping through the Sylvester Corporations financial records. "This is really boring." Heero made a noise of agreement. With a loud sigh, Duo threw one file back into the safe and reached for another. "There's something I gotta ask you, man."   
  
"Ask me later." Heero looked up from a file. "Security's here." He tossed his file down and reached for what was left of the safe's door.   
  
"Fuck!" Duo helped him slam it closed. "I thought you said we had five minutes!!"   
  
Heero blinked. "I was wrong."   
  
"That's just...great. Escape options?", Duo asked, an edge of panic in his words. His friend pointed to the plate-glass window. "Oh hell no. We're fifty stories up!!"   
  
"Fortuantely, I've thought of everything." Heero pointed to the bag on Duo's back. "Just don't forget to pull the rip cord." He pulled a small device out of his pocket and threw it at the window. It exploded a second later and Heero ran for the hole in the wall he had created.   
  
"Fucking hilarious, Yuy!" Duo followed him. They stood on the edge of the windowsill together, looking out over L1. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're a sadistic bastard?"   
  
Heero gave him a rare smile and jumped out the window.   
  
****  
  
"Please Hilde. You're the only one who can help me."   
  
Hilde exhaled a slow breath and looked at the woman on her communicator screen. "All right. I'll give you Duo's number."   
  
Relena smiled brightly. "Thank you. Thank you so much."   
  
After telling Relena the number, Hilde paused. "Have you heard anything about the girls? I've been watching the news, but I guess the story hasn't broken yet. Talk about being thankful for small miracles."   
  
Her friend nodded. "Yes. The truth is..." She hesitated. "I haven't heard anything."   
  
"Hang in there." Hilde smiled sadly. "It's all going to be okay."   
  
Relena touched pad of paper on which she had written Duo's mobile phone number. "I want to believe that. I really, really do."   
  
****  
  
"How are they doing?"  
  
"The older one has pretty much stopped talking. The little one cries all the fucking time unless we feed her like every two hours."   
  
"And the call to their mother?"  
  
"Everything went according to plan."   
  
"Really? Then why hasn't she announced the new date for the summit meeting yet?"   
  
"Um...well...I don't really..."  
  
"Shut up. She hesitating and you know it." The man on the screen pressed his manicured fingers together. "But why? We have her children...and yet, she stalls. What is she protecting?"   
  
"Or who."   
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"Uh...I just said maybe it's not a thing she's protecting, but a person."   
  
"A person...." The man began to laugh. "Of course. It all makes sense now. Why didn't I figure it out until now? I should have listened more closely to the rumor mill...."   
  
"What are you talking about, sir?"  
  
"I'll be stopping by tomorrow, around noon."   
  
"Um...okay."   
  
"The older child....she's about six, right?"  
  
"I guess."   
  
"Who was the one person you looked up to most in the world when you were six?"  
  
"Well...my dad. I used to think he was the most important person in the entire..."  
  
"That's nice. I'll see you at noon. Have the older girl ready when I get there."   
  
"What are you going to do to her?"  
  
"Really...I'm shocked and offended. I'm not going to do anything to her. We're just going to have a little talk...about her daddy."  
  
****  
  
"Okay. I never, *ever* want to do that again!!"   
  
Heero bent over, supporting his weight on his upper thighs as he caught his breath. "You could stand a few more close calls like that. You're getting out of shape."   
  
Duo gulped for breath, trying to speak at the same time. "I'm married with children. I'm supposed to be out of shape!!"   
  
"I'll be sure to mention that to Une during evaluation week."   
  
"You wouldn't!"   
  
"I wouldn't?"   
  
Duo slapped a hand over his rapidly beating heart. "I just followed you out the window of a fifty story building and ran across half a colony! I'm the best friend you're ever going to have and all you can think about doing is narcing on me??"   
  
Heero shrugged. "Don't overdramatize. We got away, didn't we?"  
  
"Barely", Duo muttered. "I thought it was all over when that semi-truck pulled out from that alley."   
  
"First rule of escape. If you can't go around, go over." Heero sat down on the grass.   
  
"Tell that to Hilde when she asks why we can't have anymore children." Duo flopped down beside his friend and stared up at the enclosed colony skyline. An artificial, but pleasant breeze blew over them.   
  
Heero was quiet for a minute. "I haven't been here in a long time."   
  
"Yeah. It's been awhile since I was on L2." Duo shook his head. "Too many memories. Most of 'em bad." He paused. "Earth is my home now. But I guess what they say is true. You can take the boy out of the colony, but you can't take the colony out of the boy."   
  
"I actually meant this particular spot." Heero touched the grass. "I used to come here a lot. But then I stopped."   
  
"Why?" When Heero didn't reply, Duo sighed. "Fine, fine. No childhood talk. I get it."   
  
"Thank you."   
  
Duo blinked; Heero's thanks were rarely given. "Sure, buddy."   
  
Heero laid back on the grass beside his best friend. "Before security came, you were going to ask me a question."   
  
"I was?" The memory hit Duo. "Oh yeah! I was." He plucked a blade of grass and set it between his lips. "I was just kind of wondering...all this research and investigation we're doing. Well...if you know it's Houghton who took your kids, why aren't we banging down his front door, introducing him to your semi-automatic?"   
  
His friend made a noise of amusement. "I've been wondering that myself."   
  
"So....what's the deal?"   
  
"I'm not an assassin. Not anymore." Heero tucked his arms behind his head. "When I married Relena...no, even before that...when the war ended, my whole world had to change. I don't think I really knew what that meant until Ame was born. I'm not a soldier anymore. I can't think or act like one, because it's not justifiable anymore. Yeah, I could storm Houghton's office and hold him at gunpoint until my girls are returned, but it wouldn't be the right thing to do. So...we get the evidence to put the son of a bitch away for life."   
  
"She'd be really proud of you."  
  
Heero stood up. "Let's get the hell off this colony." He started to walk away.   
  
Duo smiled. "I'm kinda proud of you, too." With a sigh, Duo stood up and brushed grass from his jeans. There was a loud ringing from the phone in his pocket. Puzzled, Duo pulled it out and opened it up. "Hilde?", he asked once it was raised to his ear.   
  
There was a moment of silence on the other end. "Duo?"   
  
All color drained from his face. "Relena?"   
  
Her voice relaxed into what he recognized as her frosty politician's tone. "Hello Duo. May I please speak to my husband?"  
  
**** 


End file.
